CLAREMORE, Okla. — No. 5 Rogers State Baseball (37-7, 25-5 MIAA) secured a decisive 8-3 victory over Arkansas-Fort Smith (5-37, 4-29 MIAA) on Wednesday in the regular season home finale at RCB Bank Sports Complex. Additionally, they secured the season-series sweep over the Lions for the first time since 2016.
Damon Anderson-Wolf (9-0) pitched a strong game for RSU in his ninth start (12 appearances) of the season, going 8.0 innings and allowing two earned runs on eight hits while striking out seven and walking only one. With the winning decision, Anderson-Wolf tied Brandon Bargas (2013) and Corey Murphy (2019) for the program's single-season record for wins. No other Hillcat has collected more wins than the junior in the MIAA era.
Rogers State opened the game with two runs in the first inning.
Kade Goeke reached first on a fielding error, then
Andrew Ramirez walked. An RBI sacrifice fly from
Jake Mitchell brought in the second run, putting the Cats' up 2-0 after the first.
In the second inning, Caleb Eisenhower of the Lions singled and later scored on a double steal. RSU responded with two more runs as Ramirez delivered a two-RBI single, extending the lead to 4-1 after two innings.
Andres Contreras singled in the third inning and later scored on a stolen base and a wild pitch, increasing the Hillcats' advantage to 5-1 through three frames.
Fort Smith added a run in the fourth, but RSU maintained a 5-2 lead heading into the fifth inning.
RSU scored twice more in the fifth.
Sammy Harris singled, followed by an RBI single from Mitchell and another from
Nathan Gutierrez, pushing the lead to 7-2.
In the seventh, Gutierrez (9) hit a solo home run, while the Lions added a run, bringing the score to 8-3. The Hillcats held the lead through the final innings, securing an 8-3 victory over the Lions.
Senior
Dylan Weddle came in to close, pitching 1.0 inning, giving up one hit and striking out one batter, efficiently throwing 12 strikes out of 18 pitches.
Gutierrez led the team with three hits, including a home run, and drove in two runs. Ramirez contributed with a hit and drove in two runs while also scoring once. Contreras added two hits and scored twice, enhancing the team's offensive effort.
The Hillcats will head to Pittsburg, Kansas, for a massive three-game series this weekend against No. 7 Pittsburg State. First pitch of Friday's series opener is scheduled for 5 p.m. at the Gene Bicknell Sports Complex.
